The Swan, The Witch and The Darkness
by Mandy Hartzler
Summary: How I wish s5 would go. Based HEAVILY on set spoilers. Some CS and OQ to start with before I can get rid of them, so bear with me there. Regina wants to strangle Emma a lot for being her idiot. Emma is quite proud to be Regina's anything. I throw the beards around a lot, especially RH. Eventual Mulan/Ruby. Merida shall remain single & very happy about it.
1. A Trickle

**AN: Bringing this here from ao3. It is still very much a work in progress that is ever-evolving as new spoilers come out.**

* * *

It started out as a trickle. A little river of affection, flowing gently. It also started quite by mistake. Looking back on it now, she wonders how she didn't recognize it for what it was.

Back then, they were full of self-righteous anger and frustration, brimming with fear, both too similar to realise they shared the same fears, had the same self-loathing belief that they were not enough.

If she has to pinpoint it, she'd say it was trickle at first sight. Standing there on the dark pathway to the big house, watching as the immaculately dressed brunette flung her arms around the little boy. It was almost bittersweet, in a way. To know that the kid, her son, had found a mother who would hug him so openly, one who was so obviously worried about him, that wanted him around… she was glad. It's all she wanted when she'd given him up.

And yet at the same time, there was a stab of longing, deep in her gut. Because Graham stood behind her shoulder, and checked on the kid, and god, she was beautiful. Too bad she'd never have that, would never have someone to worry over her if she didn't come home, wouldn't have someone to share responsibilities, such as checking on children, with.

Of course, it had turned out the thing with Graham wasn't quite what she'd first thought, but the longing lingered. It lingered through the fights, and the screaming, the crying and the constant bickering. It lingered through the quiet moments of companionship, the few times during that first year where it seemed that maybe they could have a truce – the moment by the mines, when she could have sworn Regina nearly kissed her, subdued moments by a prison cell with her parents.

Through all that, the desire to belong, to be needed, to be loved, had lingered. Even after the curse broke, and she had more family than she knew what to do with, and all crammed into the loft, something was missing, and she still couldn't shake the longing. She wasn't even sure she wanted to, by that point. It had become a companion of hers at all times, and it came with daydreams and the idea that it might, maybe, possibly, one day happen, so she didn't mind it so much, really.

It was standing by a well in the forest, her son tucked under her chin and his other mother leaning against a tree, smiling at her, that she felt the longing disappear for the first time.

It came back minutes later, when they'd all parted ways and gone to Gold's shop, but she couldn't forget how the longing had shifted to a sense of belonging, even for just a second. So she tried to see if it could happen again.

And it did, more and more as the months went by. First with a quiet smile – both inside and outside of Granny's, that night before it all went to hell again – and then more pronounced ones. It changed with disbelieving looks over a trigger, and being stronger together; it changed with doing magic together. It changed to something else altogether, an amplified version of the longing (but no, of course, it wasn't grief, how could she grieve something she'd never actually had?) at the town line, with the Bug and Henry on one side, everyone else on the other.

The belonging came back a year later, after New York, sitting in the office, trying to make the impossible situation somehow better, not able to comprehend the pain Regina must be going through, to have Henry not know her. But the belonging came back that day with a vengeance. It came back with soft smiles and trusting looks; it stayed with worry, with working together, with magic lessons again. It grew with a second curse breaking, and a helping hand in protecting her family.

And then it went crumbling away again with guilt.

Guilt didn't stay very long, at least, not in the way she expected it to. It was swirling around, faster and faster, with the longing and the anger and the fear and the jealousy, all swirling together into a never-ending vortex in her head; until the day belonging came back, timidly, with magic again, and all the others, that maelstrom of feelings and emotions, got pushed back, left to swirl away in the darkness. Not forgotten, but ignored. For now.

And as belonging grew, took shape, it pushed the maelstrom further and further away. Jealousy left completely for months, and the swirling stopped being so violent. The guilt ebbed, too, allowing the anger to calm down.

So she was left with belonging again. It reared up with kale salads and late night confessions; with trust that went both ways, and an inability to stop saving each other (and really, they should have life insurance, because Storybrooke never stayed quiet for very long, and the big bads were always after one of them, which inevitably meant they were after both of them, since they were both pig-headed and stubborn, and that fear always showed up again, the fear that the belonging would once again lose the be, leaving just the longing…); with best friends, silent communication and a helping hand to reach the happy ending.

Even if that happy ending made the maelstrom start up again, first quietly, then slowly growing in strength.

But the belonging didn't leave this time, it just joined the maelstrom. It swirled around with the jealousy and the fear, and that made it worth it all. Made the road trip to find the cheating scum worth it, because Regina needed her, and it was the first time anyone had said that to her, and it was Regina that said it, so how could she not go?

The belonging even stuck around in that new world of the Author's, when up was down and her mother wanted to kill her. Regina still trusted her, still believed in her, still wanted her to be happy.

And it stayed when they got back, too. Stayed through the party and the jealousy, burning hot because how could she be with him, when he'd married her sister not twelve hours before, the same sister he'd gotten pregnant?

But she'd found that belonging had made roots in her heart – and in Regina's too, she supposed, since belonging depended so much on her to exist – and refused to leave. It was there when she reached towards Regina helplessly, as the darkness came for her. It was there when she knew what had to be done. It was there when she ran, unthinking, towards the darkness, not caring about anything or anyone but the belonging that came from Regina.

And it was there when the darkness took her, instead.

Even now, when all there is is darkness, and she's not even sure whether she's dead or alive, the belonging it still there. So she tugs on it, testing, wanting to see if maybe it'll bring light again.

It started with a trickle. But by the time she got lost in the darkness, it had turned into a gushing river, with currents and undercurrents, pulling her headlong, pulling her home.


	2. The Dark Swan pt1

**AN: Okay, we are now officially in spoiler land! I was going to do one chapter per episode, but they started getting incredibly long which would take me forever to write, so I'll divide them in half, do part 1 and part 2 for each episode (or most of them, at least, since we have more info on some episodes than others... 5x01 is a-ok, as is 5x04 and 5x05 (I could probably write a book on that one alone...) but the others are all a bit iffy, so I'll fill in where needed. Those will probably also be shorter chapters)**

* * *

She didn't have time for this.

Not for the stupid pirate's presumption, not for the pitying looks she could feel Robin giving her, and definitely not for the hopeful, searching gaze Henry and the Charmings were giving her.

If Emma wasn't in this world, she did not have the time to sit around and argue; she had to figure out what world she'd gone to, and how to get her back. If there was any hope, any at all, that Emma hadn't turned fully dark yet, then she had to help. And even if the blonde had... well. She'd deal with that when got there.

It was as she was debating the merits of taking the dagger from the pirate whether he liked it or not, that there was sudden _tugging_ in the left side of her chest, where her heart was, a flash of blinding light, and when she opened her eyes again, Emma was collapsed into a heap by her feet.

She dropped to her knees next to the blonde immediately, ignoring Snow's gasp of "Emma!", ignoring the shocked looks and suspicious glare Hook sent her way, her hand going out to almost by instinct to touch Emma's arm in that spot she had come to think of as hers.

"Regina?" the blonde croaked, blinking around in confusion. "What happened?"

"You don't remember?"

Green eyes bored into her, drinking in her features, then flicking to the others, standing behind the brunette, all staring down at them with varying expressions of concern and relief on their faces.

"I... yeah. I mean," her eyes flicked back to Regina, dazedly. "I remember taking the darkness, but... how am I here?"

"You just appeared," Regina started, softly.

Just then, Emma's eyes landed on the dagger still held tightly in Hook's hand, and her eyes hardened.

"You summoned me?" she hissed. All traces of the lost and confused Emma from seconds ago was gone, and in her place was a woman overcome by fury.

It probably didn't help, Regina mused, that Hook looked completely befuddled at Emma's anger, as though he saw nothing wrong with the fact that he'd tried to control the woman he claimed to love with it.

"Emma," Regina said, placing some pressure on the blonde's arm, making her attention focus on her again. "Hook tried, but it didn't work."

"It did, I'm here aren't I?"

"Yes, but that was minutes ago; the dagger would have brought you here instantly. Emma," she said, her voice growing even more serious, taking on the softness reserved only for Emma and Henry. "It can't control you. Trust me."

Emma stared at her for a while longer, before nodding reluctantly. "Okay. Okay. But then, how...?"

Regina glanced behind her quickly, before shaking her head. She knew the others would interpret that as her saying she didn't know. Emma, however, she knew would understand the real message: not now.

She wasn't sure when or how they had gotten so good at talking without speaking. Somewhere along the line, she had looked into Snow White's precious daughter's eyes, and understood. She remenbers the day it first happened, in her office, both trying to reassure each other, trying to make a memory potion, after a year apart, and Emma's unflinching belief in her, despite everything - her past, what the town was saying...

And now, a year later, here they are. Emma is the Dark One (not yet, she thinks, not quite), and all she knows is that she can't tell them all that she thinks what brought Emma to them was her wishing. It's preposterous, a silly little girl's indulgence, from when she still wished on stars. Yet she can't quite account for any other way, and with that tugging in her heart...

She couldn't linger on it. Later, she could talk to Emma later, figure out where she was and how she really got here. For now, there were other, more pressing matters at hand.

Like the large hand currently tugging at her shoulder, trying to pull her to her feet again. She has shaken it off twice already, but on the third time, her patience is close to fraying. If Robin can't keep himself busy for 5 minutes while she makes sure Emma is okay, their relationship is going to have far more complications than just Zelena and the damn baby.

But as she shrugs him off that third time, Emma's face transforms in front of her eyes, and she reaches forward, grabbing Robin's wrist where it hovers just above her shoulder. She can tell by the gasp behind her that Emma isn't holding it gently, but before she can do more than open her mouth in shock, she hears a sickening crunch by hear ear where his wrist is, and Robin lets out a wail of pain, staggering back. Emma lets go of the broken wrist, face devoid of emotion, and her voice when she next speaks sends shivers skittering down Regina's spine.

"The lady said no. Learn to accept that answer, or I'll snap something else."

Regina isn't sure Robin has heard a single word of it, as he crumbles to the floor, holding his wrist in his other hand. It's only then that she can see the gruesome angle it's bent in, and a flash of white, with red all around it.

Nobody else has moved, and she thought they may have even stopped breathing, until she heard the whispered and uncertain, "Ma?" from Henry, and felt her heart hit her stomach.

From the look on Emma's face, she's just felt the same. She turns horrified eyes back to Regina, the mask of cold and calculated anger gone, replaced by abject horror and confusion. She shakes her head, as though trying to clear it.

"I don't... Regina?"

Regina smiles at her reassuringly. "We can figure this out later. I'm going to poof you home, alright dear?"

The blonde nods numbly, looking at her hands as if in shock. She remembers another time when Emma had looked at her own hands like that. Then, the blonde had pushed Regina out of the way of the wraith. Now...

Now it's an absolute mess.

* * *

Emma blinks and when she opens her eyes again, she's in the middle of Regina's living room. She sighs, flopping down on to a couch, thumping her head against the back in frustration.

She doesn't know why she did it.

Well, no, she does know _why_. The man was getting all handsy, even after Regina had shaken him off twice before, refusing to take no for an answer, and demanding she pay attention to him; something inside her had just snapped.

Maybe it was because Hook was still holding the dagger, and she was trying very hard not to think what he could make her do, even if she said no... repeatedly.

Or maybe it was just the annoyance in Regina's face whenever he touched her.

She didn't know.

"And the worst part is, I don't even feel guilty about it," she whispered to the empty room.

* * *

Robin had to be taken to the emergency room. Whale had looked at them all curiously, before shaking his head and stalking off after his patient.

She thought she should stick around, be the good, dutiful girlfriend, but couldn't find it in herself to care enough. The man had a broke wrist, not a terminal disease; he'd be fine. So she sent the Charmings off, looking worried and hugging each other.

Before she went, Snow insisted - quite loudly - that Hook give her the dagger. It had taken some screaming, some crying and some threatening (the latter on Charming's part), but the pirate had eventually surrendered the dagger to Snow, who tucked it into her coat, stroking it softly.

Regina tried not to let her relief at seeing the pirate divested of the object too obvious as she turned to Henry, and poofed them both home.

She hadn't been sure what to expect. With the way Emma's mood seemed to be see-sawing, she half expected to poof to a house in shambles. So she was pleasantly surprised when she saw everything was as it should be. She walked into the living room, Henry hot on her heels, to find Emma curled up on the couch, fast asleep.

Smiling, she sent Henry up to his room, then brought down a blanket and draped it over the sleeping form in her living room. She wasn't sure what to make of this new version of Emma, but one thing she knew for sure: no one under this roof was in any danger from the woman.

* * *

The next morning, things went from bad to worse. She got up, and decided to make Regina and Henry breakfast. She nipped out to the grocery shop since Regina was running low on milk, and hand't planned on spending very long in town at all.

Until she heard the dwarves gossiping in the aisle next to her that Robin Hood, in his dazed dream state, stuffed full of painkillers, had spent the night in hospital telling everyone and anyone who would listen that he wished he could kill Zelena, that he hated her, lamenting that he couldn't because she was his unborn child's _vessel_.

This time she couldn't even blame herself, she thought, as she stalked out of the grocery store, milk under her arm. The man was practically begging for trouble. But she also couldn't keep hurting him - sadly. Useless, conceited, misogynistic pig or not, Regina insisted he was her soulmate, and she couldn't betray regina's trust like that, couldn't hurt her like that.

So she did the next best thing.

By the time she got back to the mansion, Henry was awake. She smiled at him, and started making him eggs and bacon. There was no way anyone would ever know it had been her, surely? And even if there was, could they really blame her for evening the playing field a bit? She shook off the questions, concentrating on making a spectacle out of breakfast, showing off her flipping skills to Henry, who sat at the counter watching her with laughing eyes.

It wasn't long before Regina joined them, and Emma grinned at the other woman goofily, winking as she flipped a pancake, catching it neatly in the pan again. Regina rolled her eyes, but there was a smile tugging at her lips, and everywhere there was light, light, light.

Until the phone rang. Regina stopped halfway through her detailing the plan to try to find Merlin, picking up the device. As she listened to whoever was on the other side of the line, and whatever they were saying Emma could feel Regina's eyes boring into her where she stood by the sink.

When the brunette hung up, she sighed.

"Emma."

"Hmm?" she asked, not looking up from the washing.

"Did you do it?"

"Did I do what?"

"Emma," Regina sighed, resigned. "This... you can't just..."

"What happened, mom?" Henry chimed up, eyes volleying between his two mothers, brow wrinkled in confusion.

"Zelena apparently got out of her cell. Someone," she stressed the word, eyes flicking to Emma pointedly. "Must have taken the cuff off her."

"Oh." He paused, head cocked. "That's bad?"

Emma snorted a laugh, earning herself a glare from Regina. "Yes, Henry, it's bad."

He shrugged. "It just didn't seem right, you know, keeping her locked up down there."

"Yes, but it was necessary. Zelena is a lose canon; she's not thinking properly, she's too focused on her revenge."

"Ah, she'll be fine, 'Gina," Emma said, shrugging. "How much damage can one person do anyway, even with her magic?"

Regina grit her teeth, and Henry, recognising the signs of an angry Regina, slowly edged out of the kitchen, darting upstairs to get dressed.

"Enough trouble, Emma! She's gotten hold of a fairy's wand - goodness only knows how - and is holding Robin hostage!"

"Doesn't it bother you that your soulmate got your sister pregnant?"

Regina stared at the blonde, flummoxed. "D... Of course it does!"

"You just seem to be taking this all in stride, y'know. I mean, they did get married in the Author's world. Doesn't that make you wonder?"

"I... Emma, stop changing the subject!"

"I'm not. I'm segueing into the subject, actually."

Regina glared at her, but Emma just smiled, leaning back against the counter, casual. "I went out for milk this morning. I wasn't going to do anything, I swear. I just wanted to cook breakfast for you guys. Anyway, at the store, I heard Leroy and another dwarf talking. They said all the hospital staff had been kept up all night, listening to Robin Hood complain. That he said he hated Zelena and wanted to kill her; that he kept calling her his unborn child's vessel."

Regina's eyes hardened at that, and she mumbled what Emma thought was "Dwarves gossip too much for their own good", but didn't stop her, or throw a fireball at her head, so she continued.

"I just... I snapped. There's something about that guy, Regina. I just can't stand him. All his talk of honour and righteousness, but he cheats on his wife, then on you, doesn't even have the decency to apologise - either time - and now he's referring to a woman - your _sister_! - as... as an object, a thing!"

"So you decided to... what? Punish him?"

Emma shook her head slowly. "It's not my place to punish him. Frankly, as much as I hate him, he's done nothing to me personally. And you would never make him face all the shit he's done."

"But Zelena would."

"Well, yeah. I figured, you know, if I let her out and gave her free reign - letting it slip, of course, what he'd said about her - she wouldn't have your hang-ups."

Regina was silent for a while, but the anger had almost completely gone from her eyes. She sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"Well, this is certainly an interesting take on the Dark One."

Emma grinned at her, unrepentant.

"Stay here. I mean it, Emma. Don't leave the house. I have to go stop my sister before she kills him."

Emma mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "maybe you should let her", but Regina ignored her, extending her arm out towards the blonde.

"Give me the cuff so I can contain her."

Sighing and grumbling like a thwarted child, Emma handed the cuff over. "I was just trying to help."

Regina paused in the doorway. "I know."

Minutes later, she heard the front door close behind Regina and Henry, and sighed.


	3. The Dark Swan pt2

Henry wisely didn't say much on their way into the town. He'd followed her out of the house, and she hadn't stopped him, hadn't told him to stay, not when Emma was… different. Not that she thought the blonde would hurt Henry, but she could understand him wanting to be away for some time, to process everything. Still, she was glad for his silence. Regina wasn't sure what she would have said if he had asked questions. Emma's intentions were good, but that didn't change the fact that she had unleashed an angry Zelena on the town, with no real thought (or care, she reminded herself sternly) for the consequences.

And then there was Robin Hood. Her soulmate. The word used to fill her with joy and hope, but more and more lately, it had started to taste stale in her mouth. It felt like another shackle, another relationship she had no say in. And, now that Robin was showing his true colours, one she wasn't sure she wanted to be in at all.

But that wasn't the point right now, she told herself. The point was that, despite what he had said while under the influence of painkillers, she had no doubt that her sister would take savage pleasure in extending his pain as much as possible, and no one - not even an apparently misogynist boyfriend - deserved that kind of punishment.

In the end, she didn't have much time to ponder the future of that relationship. As she took the turn down Main Street, she had to slam on the brakes.

Zelena was standing in the middle of the road, manic grin on her face. She had one hand wrapped around Robin's arm, and the other held a wand. Jumping out of the car, she noticed Snow and Charming come running towards her.

"Grandma, Grandpa, what are you guys doing here?" Henry asked, looking at the two in shock.

Snow, slightly out of breath from what had clearly been a brisk jog from the loft, smiled sadly at him. "Emma called."

"Did she now," Regina muttered, surprised.

"Yes. She said she thought you might need help?"

Sighing, Regina nodded in acceptance. She'd mull over Emma deciding to help clean up her own mess - while still doing as she was told and staying put, which she very much appreciated - later.

"Then let's get this over with," she said.

All four turned towards the two figures further down, and stalked towards them.

"Zelena, let him go."

"Ah, there you are, sis! I was wandering what took you so long."

"You didn't exactly call to inform me of what was happening," she sneered.

"Well, I thought it would have been obvious something was wrong when your boyfriend here missed breakfast."

Regina felt her stomach bottom out. In all her worry over Emma and how to help her, she had completely forgotten Robin was supposed to have stopped by the mansion for breakfast that day, before the four of them - Robin, Henry, Roland and herself - headed out for the day for a picnic away from the rest of the world. _Quality family time_ , Robin had said, and she had agreed, because after the mess of the Author's world, she'd felt the need to know that her family was still there and still wanted her.

But then Emma, the stupid, brave idiot, had sacrificed herself, and all thoughts about anything not related to how to help the blonde had flown out of her mind. There was a message there, she thought, but it wasn't one she wanted to analyse too much, especially not now.

Instead, she rolled her eyes and pretended she hand't completely forgotten all about her plans for the day. "I was a bit preoccupied."

"Ah yes, with dear Emma," Zelena laughed, smug. "Do remind me to thank her later, won't you?"

Clearly Zelena was hoping to provoke some kind of reaction from her, and Regina deduced that her sister thought Emma hadn't actually told her how Zelena had gotten out.

Regina smirked. "Emma's methods may be misguided, but at least we know her sense of good and fairness is still in there."

Surprise flashed across Zelena's face, and Robin frowned deeply at that.

"You think it's fair that Emma set your insane sister loose on me?"

Regina forced a smile at her soulmate. "No, of course not, Robin. But maybe..." she trailed off, still unwilling to voice her thoughts. She heard Emma's voice telling her _you would never make him face all the shit he's done_. She'd sworn she'd never let herself be walked over again, would never let someone else own her, but now she wondered.

Zelena's eyes sparkled and she cackled. "Oh, she's growing a spine!" she told Robin, grinning wickedly at him. "Looks like the honeymoon phase is over, sweet cheeks."

"Zelena, enough. Let him go and we can talk about it."

"Talk about it? _Talk about it_? About how you have everything you ever wanted - a comfrotable life, a soulmate, a son; a family. Even a Dark One that apparently adores you, while I have, what? Insults from the father of my child, and no family to speak of? Is that what you want to talk about, _sis_?"

"Zelena..."

"No, you don't understand! I had everything in the Author's world, okay? I had a loving husband, and a family, something to look forward to. And now I have nothing again." She lifted her hand, the one holding the wand, and lightining flashed. The wind picked up speed, whipping their hair in their faces, and Zelena cackled madly. "Aand now I'm going to take away what you value most: your happy ending."

Regina had a second to be glad she'd told Emma to stay at home, before lightining arced from the clouds towards Zelena's outstretched arm, still gripping the wand. And it was all too much, too soon. All too similar to the position Emma had been in only last night, hand thrust up and out, dagger in one hand and an apology in her eyes.

That second of deja-vu almost cost Robin his life. The lighting raced from the tip of the wand, heading towards Robin where he stood, held to Zelena's side by her firm grip on his injured arm. Blinking out of her reverie, Regina put up a force shield between Robin and Zelena, forcing her to let go of him, and the lightining to bounce off harmlessly. He stumbled towards her, and she caught him before he fell, then quickly passed him on to a waiting Snow, before swooping up to Zelena. Charming was right behind her, and grabbed her sister's arms while Regina grabbed the wand from her sister's hand while quickly snapping the cuff back on in one fluid movement. One it was on, Charming grabbed one of her arms and started directing her firmly back towards the hospital.

As she was led away, Zelena looked back at Regina, where she stood, still holding the wand gingerly in one hand. Her sister smirked, not looking too put out at all at being taken back to her padded cell.

"Good luck with that, sis," she said, head tilting towards Robin Hood behind Regina.

Regina frowned but didn't comment, silently agreeing with Zelena.

* * *

When she got home, it was to a smugly grinning Emma, sitting on the bottom of the stairs waiting for them. The smile faltered a bit when Charming, Snow and Robin followed in behind Henry, but she still turned proud eyes on Regina.

The mayor bit back a sigh, wondering what the woman had done now.

"I know where to find Merlin," she announced, the smugness never quite fading from her voice.

All of them, except for Robin, who seemed to be whining under his breath about his painkillers not working anymore and kept sending Regina significant looks that the brunette studiously ignored.

Emma in turn sent the man a baleful glare, but otherwise didn't seem to even notice his presence. She kept her focus mostly on Regina, who titled her head in silent question.

Emma shrugged. "Everyone knows Merlin lived in Camelot with King Arthur and the Round Table guys. So I gave Belle a call. Turns out Camelot is an actual place in the Enchanted Forest."

Henry was practically vibrating with excitement beside Regina at what this meant, and she sighed.

"That's great, Emma, really. But we have no way of getting there, not without..."

"A bean?" Emma asked, holding up her hand, a white bean held between two fingers.

"H... How?"

The blonde shrugged again, leaning back against the stairs, her smugness growing even more. "We'd started growing them a while ago, remember? To get Elsa, Anna and Kristoff back to Arendelle? They would have taken too long for their schedule, but the timing worked out rather well for us, I'd say. Belle gave me two - one for the trip there, and one for the trip back."

Regina gaped at her silently, as did Emma's parents. Henry darted forward and grabbed the bean from Emma, staring at it in awe. It was easy to forget sometimes that he'd never actually seen one before.

"Well then," Snow spoke, finally breaking the apparent trance they'd all been in. "I guess we have a trip to plan."

* * *

It took a surprisngly short time to get everything ready. Hook was found snoring on the Jolly Roger, and all it really took was another phone call to Belle from Regina, asking her to keep the town running in their abscence. She had done a "decent enough job", Regina had grumbled to an amused Emma, while they were in Neverland.

Regina, who had taken custody of the beans, because she "didn't trust Emma not to trip and fall, accidentally opening a portal and taking away their way home", threw one in her back garden, and they all took a deep breath and jumped.

* * *

The first thing she saw when Emma opened her eyes, was a canopy of trees above her, and the very pointy, very _near_ tip of an arrow. So near, in fact, that she was going slightly corss-eyed trying to keep it in her field of vision. Giving up, she followed the tip with her eyes, mouth opening to scream at Robin Hood, before her gaze landed on the hand holding the bow. A feminine hand. But surely her mother wouldn't have pulled a bow and arrow on her? Careful not to make any sudden movements, she let her gaze travel further up, and was met with a shock of bright red hair.

She dropped her head back down to the ground with a groan. "Seriously, now we're adding in Pixar characters too? Bad enough when it was only Disney; this is getting ridiculous." She paused, popping her head back up again. "Wait. Did the bean not work? Am I in Scotland?"

Merida frowned at that, but pulled the bow back slightly, enough so Emma didn't run the risk of going cross-eyed anymore.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"Oh, right. Hi, I'm Emma Swan. Daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, former Saviour and current Dark One."

In restrospect, she mused, maybe she shouldn't have mentioned the last one. The bow flew up again, and Emma had no doubt that, if she decided to let that arrow fly, it would hit home. She was too close for her to even be able to throw up a magical shield in time.

"Um. I'm trying not to be the last one, though?"

Green eyes eyed her suspiciously. "How did you get here?"

"Magic beans, we used some magic beans, I..." it suddenly dawned on her that she couldn't see any of her travelling companions. "Dammit, Regina, I knew we should've held hands," she grumbled. "Look," she said, turning back to Merida, hands held out in a placating gesture. "We're looking for Camelot. I cam here with my family, but we must have gotten separated during the trip."

She was silent for a few seconds, before lowering the bow again. "That them?" she inquired, gesturing towards the trees to her left, where Regina was just stepping out from.

"Yes!" Emma said, relieved. Beind Regina, Henry popped his head out from the trees, wide eyes taking in everything around him, and she could hear rustling that suggested the rest of their companions had made it too.

"I can't believe I'm back here. This had better be worth it," Regina said, disgust prominent on her face. She turned to Merida. "Who the hell is this?"

"Mom!" Henry exclaimed, horrified. "That's Merida," he whispered.

She rolled her eyes. "Of course it is."


	4. The Price

**AN: Quick note on the timeline of the spoilers and how they fit into the story. So, when I started this, I had a full table of spoilers, and I knew where each one would fit and had plotted the whole thing to make them fit into each chapter according to the episode they related to. So spoilers for 5x01 would be in chapters 2 and 3 and so on and so forth. As the nature of spoilers is wont to do, they just... keep... coming. And I can't assimilate them/write them in fast enough. The script tease didn't fit into the previous chapter, but it did in this one. Likewise, the beautiful save me line wouldn't have made sense last chapter, but it does here. So, basically, while I will use all spoilers, and will try to keep it as close to the canon timeline as possible, please be aware that's not always going to be possible.**

 **On that note, viva la swan queen!**

* * *

It didn't take long for them to convince Merida to show them the way to Camelot. Regina rather thought the redhead looked relieved to see them go, and she couldn't really blame her.

Everyone was so preoccupied with making sure they had everything they needed, no one noticed Henry sidle up to Merida and whisper silently to her. The two argued quietly back and forth for a few minutes, before the redhead finally nodded, and the young boy stepped away, smiling faintly.

No one questioned Merida's desire to part ways, and no one took much notice of Henry turning to glance at her as they left.

* * *

She really hated this world, Emma mused as they trudged through a seemingly endless forest. She honestly didn't understand why everyone seemed so enamoured with the damn place. Except for Regina, she reminded herself. The Queen was currently sporting a deeper scowl than Emma herself, which briefly amused her. Henry seemed to have run out of excitement four hours into the trek and was now walking silently beside his other mother, seemingly lost in thought.

The problem with the endless walk was that it left Emma's mind to wander; and when she was fighting the darkness trying to take over her every step of the way, a wandering mind wasn't the best thing to have. Still, she thought she'd been doing pretty well. Until Robin Hood, the useless oaf (and why was he even here anyway?) had to fuck things up for her.

With Regina in a decidedly foul mood, it seemed the thief wasn't sure of what to do with himself. He spent the better part of the day sneaking glances at the Mayor, but it was only when they'd stopped for dinner, all of them sitting around a campfire eating whatever Snow had managed to shoot with Robin's bow - she'd figured she was more likely to actually eat if she didn't know what it was - that he started talking.

And it wasn't just that his voice grated on her nerves, Emma thought mullishly. It was that the man didn't know when to shut up. She guessed he'd been trying to cheer them up, but talking about hiw unborn baby, and how excited he was for it to be born, definitely wasn't the way to do it. How he didn't notice Regina's face, the vein in her forehead growing more prominent with each word he spewed, Emma couldn't say. Even Hook had taken to shooting the thief uneasy looks, his eyes flickering between Regina, Robin and Emma, then back again.

It was after Robin had smiled at Regina, enthusing about how great it would be for her to "finally have a family", that Emma finally snapped.

"She already has a family," she replied icily.

Robin looked at her, apparently surprised by her tone and Regina straightened, eyes snapping to Emma.

"Well, yes, but Roland..."

"I meant Henry, you pathetic waste of space," she growled.

"Emma!" Snow chastised.

"No, I've had enough of hearing him go on and on about all his grand plans for this kid, okay? Can no one else see how fucked up it is that he wants to raise this kid like their love child, when it's actually Zelena's kid?" Regina glared at her swearing, but Emma waved a hand in the air. "Oh relax Regina, the kid has been asleep for a good hour at least."

They all looked at Henry, curled up beside Regina, head resting in her lap peacefully.

"Emma, love, it's none of our business what they..."

"No, I guess it's not," she told Hook, turning on him. "What Regina does with her private life is her business, you're right. What I take issue with is this... person... suggesting that my son isn't good enough to be part of her family."

"That's not..."

"How is it that your illegitimate child, the child that you had with Regina's sister, no more than months after proclaiming to love Regina, is more special than the son she raised by herself?"

"I..."

But her anger just kept growing, and a little voice inside told her that maybe she was overreacting, but she found she didn't care anymore. She wanted him to burn for hurting Regina, when he was supposed to be her happy ending.

"Some soulmate you're turning out to be."

"At least I'm not abandoning my child just because it's inconvenient to me."

The silence that descended then was deafening. Even the fire seemed to stop crackling as Emma's eyes grew cold, and her posture went rigid.

"What did you just say to me?"

"Emma..." Snow tried again, but Emma ignored her.

She stood slowly, and Robin followed suit, scrambling to his feet. Beside him, Regina's eyes were glued on Emma, but the blonde didn't take her gaze off Robin, who suddenly seemed to remember who he was dealing with.

"Don't ever," she growled softly, eyes glowing eerily in the firelight. Robin gasped for breath as Emma's hands twitched by her sides. "Assume you know me. Don't ever presume to understand my relationship with Henry."

Everyone was standing now, and Henry was blinking sleepily, dislodged when Regina had risen.

"Emma, stop," Regina said, face a mask of calm.

"No," Emma purred, head tilted to the side. "I don't think I will. I thought I could do it for you, Regina. I thought I could stomach being around him and listening to his useless drivel, but I guess I can't."

Something flashed in Regina's eyes - surprise, fear, anger; Emma wasn't sure, but she was beyond caring. She took another step towards Robin, and he started turning blue, gasping for air.

"Emma stop!" Snow's voice rang throughout the clearing, and the blonde paused. She turned slowly to face her mother, confusing marring her features until she spotted the dagger in Snow's hand. Then contempt flashed across her face, before settling on resigned boredom. Robin was still gasping behind her, and Snow glowered at her daughter. "Let him go."

With a sigh, the blonde waved a hand, and Robin collapsed to the ground, a hand instantly going to his throat. No one moved to help him.

"|'d wondered who had it," Emma purred, eyes boring into Snow's.

Regina was shaking, anger written clearly across her features, but she didn't speak. Emma shrugged and turned around.

"Emma, come back here," Snow barked. The blonde stopped mid-step, and her gaze turned murderous. "Apologise to Robin Hood."

Emma barked a laugh. "You cannot be serious."

Snow steeled her jaw. "I am. Apologise."

Gritting her teeth, Emma threw a "sorry" over at where Robin was still huddled on the ground.

Nodding, Snow kept the dagger held up in front of her. "We should have tried this earlier. Your father and I have been talking..."

"Snow, what are you doing?" Charming asked softly, alarmed.

"We have to try everything, Charming. And if it works, we can all go home now." She took a deep breath. "Emma, kiss Hook."

"WHAT," Regina and Emma roared at the same time. Hook, looking confused but not unhappy with this turn of events, flinched at the shouts.

"Snow, are you out of your mind?"

"Regina, if he's her True Love, it could break the curse, and everything would be fine again! Emma, I command you."

With a look of utter betrayal on her face, Emma turned to Hook and kissed him. He took plenty of advntage of the situation, and Regina had to clear her throat before he released his hold on the blonde. When nothing happened, she stepped back, and sent a poisonous glare at her mother.

"Happy now?"

Snow's face crumbled. "But I don't understand..."

Regina's face had taken on an alarming shade of red, and that vein was bulging. "That's obvious. You can't just force her to kiss him!"

"But I thought..."

"It doesn't matter what you thought! You cannot use the dagger like that, don't you understand what you just did to your own daughter, you fool?"

Snow looked around. Charming and Henry wouldn't meet her eyes, Regina and Emma were glaring at her, and Hook and Hood had slinked off, she guessed to commiserate together.

"I..."

"Turn that dagger over right this instant, Snow," Regina growled. "Or so help me."

When Snow took a step towards Regina, dagger extended towards her, Regina was quick to shake her head.

"Not to me - to Emma."

Hook, who had apparently wandered back at some point, stepped forward. "Easy there, love. I'm not sure that's the best idea. Swan needs someone to keep her in check right now, not to be given free reign to destroy us all."

Regina spun on him, livid. "Watch it, Guyliner. I know what I'm doing." The dangerous glint in her eyes was enough for Hook to back down, raising his hands in surrender. "You, Snow, have just violated Emma's trust in the worst way possible. I can't imagine she'd be likely to trust that thing to anyone right now, and I can't say that I blame her."

Emma turned grateful, surprised eyes on Regina as Snow shuffled forward and handed Emma the dagger. None of them slept very well that night.

* * *

She wasn't sure what woke her. The sun was just cresting the horizon when her eyes opened, and she knew something had woken her. Looking around, she noticed Emma standing some way away, staring at the brightening sky. She got up and made her way over silently.

Emma turned to her, smiling briefly in acknowledgment before looking back up at the sky.

"I'm sorry about what happened yesterday," Regina whispered.

Turning to look at her, Emma tilted her head towards the trees, and they made their way out of the clearing, a way away until Regina knew they couldn't be overheard. Finally, Emma stopped, sighing.

"It wasn't your fault."

"No," she agreed. "But I should have told Robin to be quiet before things got out of hand."

Emma smiled at her softly. "If it hand't happened then, it would have been something else." She looked away, shoulders drooping. "It's getting worse," she whispered.

Regina took a step closer, hand rising to Emma's shoulder instinctively. "The darkness?"

The blonde nodded. "It's harder to tell what's me and what's not." She looked back up at the brunette, eyes shining. "I'm scared, Regina."

Her voice was barely audible, but Regina heard it nonetheless. She squeezed the shoulder under hand in solidarity. "I know," she breathed and Emma nodded, not agreeing, but acknowledging the things left unspoken.

They were silent for a while, both lost in their own thoughts, then Emma turned, Regina's hand falling from her shoulder.

"I need you to do something for me, Regina."

She met the brunette's eyes, pleadingly, and took the dagger out from the pocket she had stashed it away in. She thrust it into Regina's hands, the brunette's surprised and confused eyes snapping up to hers.

"Emma, what...?"

"I saved you, Regina. Now save me," she pleaded, eyes shining.

Stunned, the brunette held the dagger gingerly in her hands. Never tearing her gaze from the blonde's, she nodded slowly. "Always," she whispered. She wasn't sure Emma heard her, but in that moment she found she didn't really care either way.


	5. Siege Perilous pt1

**AN: Big thanks to Applesaday for being my beta on this! Any mistakes are all mine.**

* * *

The journey after that was fairly uneventful. Everyone was more subdued, as they'd been forcefully reminded of the reason why they were traipsing through the Enchanted Forest. Emma, in particular, seemed to grow moodier every hour. Regina tried not to let it worry her, but she knew they'd all noticed it.

Hook had taken to snarling at everyone who approached him, his mood having taken a serious blow since his kiss had failed to have the desired effect on Emma. Henry had later told Regina that he'd tried that before, when he went to find them in New York after Pan's curse, and it hadn't worked then either. She supposed that then, he could have chalked it up to her not remembering him, and therefore not being able to love him, but this time had to sting. Emma knew who he was, and, only days earlier, had told him she loved him… and then sacrificed herself and that love, for Regina.

The brunette wondered, in her quiet moments, why that thought filled her with such strange warmth. She shouldn't be happy that Emma didn't have True Love with her pirate. Even though she could almost hear Emma's scoff and amused " _not everyone lives a fairytale life, Your Majesty. Some of us live normal lives, with no True Loves and rainbow kisses_ ," but she still frowned. It was clear that Snow had believed they were True Loves, and obviously Emma did have a True Love in Henry, so there was no reason to believe she would be denied a romantic one. And, much as she'd disagreed with Snow's methods, a part of her had been hopeful, that maybe they'd all be able to go back home, before she had to watch her friend turn into someone else before her eyes.

Her hand tightened over the dagger she kept in her belt, inside a sheath she had magicked up, so that it was always near her, never out of her sight. _Save me_ , Emma had whispered; begged of her. She hated that the blonde _needed_ saving, hated seeing the assured, confident woman slowly fade away to a shell of who she had been. But she was also scared. Regina knew what Emma entrusting her with the dagger meant for both of them, and she was still staggered by the enormity of the trust Emma had placed in her. And she hoped against hope that she would never have to use it. Emma knew, of course, though it was unspoken between them, that Regina would never use it to control her like Snow had. Instead, she'd protect the dagger from those who would, with her life.

But the deeper, darker meaning, hidden in the despair and brokenness of Emma's voice as she handed Regina her life, was that she trusted her to do the right thing; trusted her to know Emma well enough to know when using the dagger was a necessity, to stop the blonde from doing something she'd never forgive herself for if – when – she got rid of this curse. She had entrusted Regina, knowing that the brunette would do the hard thing if it meant ensuring that Emma could live with herself later on.

And that terrified her.

Because looking at Emma, walking ahead of her now, head and shoulders bowed, as if she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. And whenever the blonde would look up, Regina swore she could see something ancient and cruel, cold, swirling behind the eyes she knew so well. And it seemed to be getting closer to the surface every time now, like Emma was fighting a losing battle.

She quickened her pace. They had to get to Camelot. Fast.

Night was falling fast as they crested the last hill, and spotted the imposing castle of Camelot. It might have been her imagination, but she could have sworn she heard Emma, standing beside her, sigh in what sounded like relief.

The blonde gave her a rueful grin. "Let's do this, then."

Regina nodded but kept quiet, unable to speak in the face of the dark, living thing that she'd seen twisting behind Emma's eyes, closer than ever.

The blonde started forward, Henry and Hook hot on her heels, and maybe she should have been paying more attention. Maybe she should have noticed how the night had suddenly gone quiet, unnaturally still.

The only warning they had was a shrill shriek, before a blur of darkness hurtled towards Hook, now halfway across the field separating them from Camelot. They all looked up in alarm, but it was too dark for Regina to make out anything but dark blurs. As the blur seemed to dive towards the pirate, Regina threw a fireball at it, and the creature swerved up and away, narrowly avoiding the flames.

In the light of the fireball, she'd been able to make out a female face, but instead of a nose, it had a beak, and hands that ended in talon-like claws. Hook didn't waste the reprieve he'd been given, and instead ran for cover under the trees where they'd come from.

But the creature apparently hadn't been alone. Inexplicably ignoring all four Charmings (which was lucky, she realised, since Emma and Henry were still very much exposed, out in the field, as they ran towards the castle ahead. For once, she found herself grateful for whatever twist of fate that made life seem to favour that bloodline so much, as Henry and Emma disappeared from sight, and none of the winged beasts followed them), the creatures circled above her, Hook and Robin.

It occurred to her, briefly, that one type of flying creature had been enough to last her a lifetime. At least she knew there was no way Zelena was behind these attacks – these creatures were more like birds than Zelena's monkeys anyway. She kept a fireball in her hand, wondering what to do next, eyes tracking the dark blurs above them. Just as she decided they'd try crossing the field, protected by her fireballs, she heard Hook whisper.

"Harpies."

She shot him a sharp look, but then looked up again, considering what she saw. The human female face, and the bird-like features… perhaps Emma's pirate wasn't entirely useless after all. Thinking quickly, she recalled what she knew about harpies: they purportedly attacked evildoers, and dragged them off to the Furies in the underworld.

She felt her stomach bottom out. That explained why they had ignored Henry – whose biggest wrongdoing in his short life had been to be too trusting of Pan – and Emma, who, despite her new status, had yet to do anything truly evil. Mischievous, perhaps, in letting Zelena go, but nothing evil or wrong, as her intentions had been pure. It also explained why it had dived for Hook when he'd been exposed…

… and it meant they were both stuck there. If it had attacked Hook, she did not want to know the gusto with which they would attack her.

"Charming," she called over the cacophony coming from above them that sounded disturbingly like mocking laughter. "Follow Henry and Emma. We'll go one by one so I can keep an eye out for each of you individually."

And she knew that Charming should be a safe bet. Snow might get some trouble, with her dark spot in her heart, but she hoped it wouldn't be too tempting for the harpies, considering who would be staying behind – the big prize.

Nodding stoically, Charming broke out from under the treeline, and raced across the field. As he stepped out into the open, the laughter grew in volume, but nothing followed him. Taking a deep breath, she nodded for Robin to follow. But something went wrong. The second Robin Hood stepped out from the cover of the trees, three shapes flew down, too fast for Regina, who had been expecting him to sail through like Charming, to react in time.

His terrified scream rented the night sky, and stopped Charming in his tracks, as he turned around to watch in horror as the three harpies picked Robin up and started carrying him away, still dangling from their claws.

"Regina, do something!" Snow shrieked beside her, snapping Regina from her shock.

"Stay under cover," she told Snow and Hook, before taking a deep breath and going to save Robin Hood – again. Running, she threw three fireballs in quick succession, causing the harpies to swerve sharply to avoid the flames, hissing in anger. She kept throwing them, until finally, with an inhuman screech, the two harpies holding Robin, opened their talon-like hands and let him go.

Or rather, they let him drop. From a very, very long way up. A scream caught in her throat, Regina ran forward, only just managing to conjure up an air mattress under Robin, so his fall was at least a little cushioned. She reached him the same time Charming did, as the mattress disappeared again, and she kneeled down beside Robin on the floor, cradling his head in her lap.

She could see him breathing, despite being unconscious, and could see he had nasty gashes on his wrists, presumably from where their talons had sunk into his skin. Satisfied that he'd live, she looked up at Charming, eyes frantic:

"Emma and Henry?"

"They got away. I saw them run through the nearest gate into the city."

She sagged in relief, before looking down at Robin again. "I don't understand," she whispered, frowning deeply.

"You couldn't have known all three would go for him, Regina," Charming said in a sympathetic voice.

"No, that's the thing. They shouldn't have attacked him at all, David," she whispered, eyes lifting to meet his confused ones. She could hear Snow and Hook running towards them behind her, and she shook her head. "They're harpies; they only attack evildoers. It's why they didn't go for you. For all your faults, you always had good intentions, and I think that holds a lot of sway with creatures like them. It's why Emma was able to get away, too. Why…" she trailed off, uncertain, as Snow and Hook finally reached them.

"Is he ok?" Snow asked, worry lacing her voice.

Nodding slowly, Regina climbed to her feet. "Yes, he will be fine." And without another word, she levitated Robin's still unconscious body across the field and towards the castle and the city sprawled below it.

She didn't speak the whole way there, and when Snow tried asking her another question, Charming placed a hand on her arm and shook his head, eyes troubled. They were silent the whole way to the gates, where Henry and Emma were waiting, surrounded by guards who were eyeing them all suspisciously.


	6. Siege Perilous pt2

AN: **First of all, thanks to Applesaday for doing beta on this from my crappy computer at work, with a space bar that likes to stick and a crappy 'y' button that doesn't always work. She deserves a medal for it haha. Any mistakes are all mine.**

 **A little note on this title. I did some research, cos I wanted to know if it was something I could/should incorporate into to the fic. Basically, the siege perilous, or the perilous seat, was a vacant seat at the Round Table, reserved by Merlin for the knight who would eventually find the Holy Grail. Now, you mention knight, and my first thought is Emma, but, in her current condition (#shesthedarkonenotpregnant), that wouldn't quite work out. It took me a while and some to-ing and fro-ing with my lovely beta, Applesaday, before I settled on her awesome idea of how to add it in. Hopefully you all like the way I did this... which you'll only really see in next part, I'm afraid. For now, though, enjoy me having some fun at RH's expense!**  
 **Oh and the actual spoilers for this scene had an OQ kiss, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it, so...**

* * *

They hadn't been let into the city proper. Something about them not trusting magic practitioners, the guard had claimed, but his eyes had flickered to Robin Hood in distrust. Regina had been inclined to roll her eyes at that – the man was unconscious, what did they expect him to do? –, but then she'd caught sight of Emma, standing aloof to one side, and thought that maybe they'd had the right idea. Instead, they were led to a clearing to the left of the gates, not far from the wall.

"What about the harpies?" Snow insisted.

"They don't come this close to the city; the clearing is within the magical protection around it, so they can't reach you here." It was clear by his tone of voice that he thought that was a shame, and Regina wondered if he thought they should chuck Robin out of the protective circle, to face his fate.

"And tomorrow?"

The guard levelled Snow with a condescending look. "Tomorrow, if he has time, His Majesty will see you."

Regina coughed gently, and the guard looked at her, wary. "You may wish to inform him that it would be in his best interest to help us as soon as possible," she said quietly. And it was clear that, even though it hadn't been an order, the guards recognised something in her that made them take her seriously.

"Yes, Ma'am," he agreed.

"Your Majesty," Emma snapped, and the guards jumped at the icy tone in her voice.

"What?"

"She's a Queen, and you will refer to her as such."

"Emma…"

Emma shot Regina a look at her slightly admonishing tone, shrugged and stalked off to the edge of the clearing, where she slumped against a tree.

"I'm sorry," Regina said, turning back to the guards who'd watched the exchange with a mix of wariness and amusement. "The trip has been quite taxing on us all."

"Of course. We meant no disrespect, but…"

"You have your own Queen, I understand."

The head guard nodded at her once, then turned, followed by his comrades out of the clearing. She had no doubts that the men stationed on the wall of the city could see them, but she wasn't worried about an attack. Sighing, she walked towards Emma, sitting down next to the blonde, her back leaning against the tree as well.

"I'm sorry," Emma whispered.

"I know."

When Snow looked over an hour later to call them to dinner, they had fallen sleep. Regina's legs were stretched out in front of her, and Emma's head rested on the brunette's shoulder, strong arms encircling the petite Queen. And Regina, face serene in Emma's embrace, rested her head atop Emma's.

Snow didn't wake them, just smiled softly and turned back to the fire. Henry, noticing what his grandma had seen, sneaked his phone out and took a picture of his moms, tangled up in sleep, leaning against each other, both finally looking peaceful for the first time in days.

He sighed as he ate, wishing Merida would hurry up, hoping she could get what he'd asked for.

When Arthur did see them the next day, he wasn't alone.

About six other men rode into the clearing behind him, and eyed them all suspiciously, clearly still not trusting their intentions. But Snow stepped forward, and Regina was more than happy to let the woman take the lead for once.

"You've been expecting us," she said, almost surprised.

Arthur nodded. "It was long foretold that you would come to us in a time of need, Princess Snow. We were not, however," he said, turning to the rest of their party. "Expecting your companions." His gaze lingered on Regina, where she stood next to Emma and Henry, then paused on Hook, at the edge of the clearing, as though wishing he could leave.

Snow glanced over them quickly, nodding. "I can understand that, and why it would make you wary, but times have changed. We're all on the same side now."

Arthur watched them all for a few seconds, before nodding reluctantly. "Very well. Who are your companions, then? I do not recognise them all."

As Snow gestured to each of them, making introductions, Regina noticed that, though Arthur seemed to have accepted their presence, his knights still kept a close look on them all, especially herself, Hook and Robin. She tried not to wince at the last one, refusing to acknowledge, even to herself, why the harpies had attacked him the night before. She'd worry about that later.

Arthur and his knights started escorting them to castle, and they all fell in line silently. Charming struck up a conversation with Arthur, and she was glad that at least one of them seemed to be in the right frame of mind, and was trying to befriend the King. Really, for a party made up mostly of royals, they had little to show in the way of diplomatic relations.

Once inside the castle, they were led to a room with surprisingly comfortable sofa-like chairs. Robin, carried to the castle on the back of a horse, was taken to a room – and, she suspected, given the distrust they seemed to have for him, had some guards posted outside the room. As she sat in her comfortable seat, Regina found herself wishing she'd had some like them in her cold, dark castle.

"They'd take away from that evil thing you had going on," Emma whispered close by, and she jumped, not noticing that Emma had stopped beside her chair and was smirking down at her.

Regina offered the blonde a grin. "Yes, I suppose they would have."

"Much more intimidating to drag poor, unsuspecting people to your chambers and on their knees…"

Regina knew, of course, what Emma was talking about, had been filled in on her adventures in the past, and how they related to her – and, in the end, to Marian/Zelena coming back – so she didn't know why, when Emma's voice dropped suggestively at the end of sentence, she felt a corresponding blush creep up her neck. She tried to ignore it by rolling her eyes. "Your survived the experience."

Emma eyed her for a long moment, before nodding. "Yeah, I guess I did," she agreed, sitting herself with surprising grace into the chair beside Regina's.

It was the graceful movement that tipped her off, and her eyes shot to Emma's, worried. She hadn't noticed it before, hidden behind the smirk, and then too worried hiding her blush to look the blonde in the eyes, but the coldness was there now, staring back out at her from behind Emma's eyes. Regina swallowed thickly as Emma felt her gaze on her and turned back to look at Regina. She gave her a wolfish grin, all teeth, winked, and then turned her attention back to the front, to where Arthur stood.

Regina sat, immobile, in her chair. Too fast, she wailed to herself. Too soon. She wasn't ready to face the truths of a Dark Emma, didn't want to have to face what that would mean for her – for both of them and for the friendship they'd built. She forced herself to tune into the conversation happening around her.

"… so we were hoping you could tell us where we could find Merlin, so we could put this whole ordeal behind us," Snow was saying.

Arthur nodded, thoughtful. "Well, I suppose we could help you…"

He trailed off, and Regina sighed deeply, used to these kinds of deals. "What's your price?"

Arthur smiled at her then. "We need a knight to find the holy grail. As I understand it, you have at least one knight in your company. Once it is found, we will tell you where to find Merlin."

"But the holy grail has been lost for centuries!" Snow spluttered. "If your men haven't found it, how are we supposed to?"

The King shrugged. "It is not my concern how you do it, only that you do."

They were given accommodations within the city wall that night, though the atmosphere was, if possible, even more sombre that it had been the previous night.

Emma refused point-blank to sleep in the same room (never mind the same bed) as Hook, which only worsened the pirate's already bad mood, and made Mary Margaret look like a kicked puppy.

And because Emma couldn't be left without supervision, Regina found herself curling up on one side of the bed, while Emma lay down next to her. Regina didn't sleep all night, acutely aware that the person lying beside her probably wasn't the Emma she knew and trusted anymore. Somewhere around 3am, a voice spoke up from beside her.

"You know, I really thought we could do this. I really thought this would work."

"Giving up already?"

She felt the bed move beneath her as the blonde shrugged. "Not much left to hold on to, if I'm honest."

"Emma…"

"Go be happy, Regina. It's what you deserve. I've accepted my fate."

"Emma, no…"

"We all have to live with the consequences of our actions, you know that better than anyone. And I don't regret saving you; I'd do it again in a heartbeat if I had to. But you have to let me go, Regina."

"Never."

"Then I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too."

The sunlight in the morning hit the person lying beside her, and Regina had to stifle a gasp. Emma's hair was no longer a healthy, sunny blonde. It was a dry, sickly shade of white and her grey dress had been substituted by an all-black leather ensemble.

"Good morning," the Dark One purred at her, making the Mayor's eyes snap up to meet the other woman's. She was somewhat relieved to note that her eyes had stayed the same - they'd lost much of their warmth and compassion, but they were still inherently Emma.

"What… how…?"

The Dark One smirked at her. "Let's get this show on the road, shall we, my majesty?"

Regina swallowed down a lump in her throat as she watched the other woman slither out of bed and glide imposingly towards the door. "After all, we haven't got all day. There are people to terrorise, things to do…" she threw over her shoulder, before leaving the room.

From outside, she could hear Snow say, "Good morning, Emma," before she heard a gasp. Regina decided she didn't want to see Emma kill her own mother, and rushed out to stop the impending disaster that was sure to happen.

She'd expected to see Snow in a chokehold; instead, the woman was just standing there, staring at Emma slack-jawed, before her eyes turned accusingly to Regina.

"What did you do?"

Regina blinked. "What did I do? I didn't do anything!"

"Then why is my daughter dressed up like… like…"

"If you're thinking she got those clothes from me, think again. There's nothing I owned in this realm that had such a conservative neckline, as I'm sure you remember."

Snow flushed scarlet, and Emma shot both of them amused glances, before looking back at her mother.

"Go get the others, we're leaving."

"What? But, Emma, the holy grail…"

"Is impossible to find. This was a wild goose chase from the start."

"But…"

"I'm leaving with or without you," Emma said, holding up the bean in her fingers. Regina frowned, and patted her pockets, before turning to scowl at the woman. She grinned, unrepentant. "Thief, remember?"

"I'll be sure not to forget it again," she grumbled.

* * *

 **AN: I did consider Regina for the knight, but in the end that would have added so much backstory and retconning, that I thought it better left to the Camelot peeps. That way, a full backstory on how Regina accidentally stumbled across the grail among Cora's old things wouldn't take away from the story I'm actually trying to tell, of Dark Swan and Regina (ft. guests)**

 **ALSO. For anyone wondering, beard 2 will be around for at least one more chapter; you're all going to have to stomach beard 1 for a while longer, because he's 'very active in the first 10 episodes', which, thanks for that spoiler, guys, I really didn't need that (although, I suspect my 'very active' for Hook is very different from theirs, but what can I say, I don't suffer lampshades).**

 **This is now caught up to the ao3 updates, so they'll probably slow down considerably. Although we are now entering the episodes I've been most excited for, and most looking forward to writing, so who knows really.**

 **Again, all spoilers will show up... eventually ;)**


	7. Broken Kingdom

**AN: We** **'** **ve now had canon Dark Swan! I think it** **'** **s fairly accurate to say they took the story in a completely different direction. Nevertheless, I might refer back to canon every now and then, so I** **'** **ll let you know if anything happens in s5 that you should take in stride for this fic too. For now, it** **'** **s nothing much - nothing that we didn** **'** **t already know from spoilers, anyway. This chapter is meant to be a little confusing - you** **'** **ll understand soon enough, I promise. Heads up for a significant amount of C$ in this chapter; it is the Dark Swan playing Hook like a fiddle, but still.**

 **Also, shoutout to the first Red Warrior sighting & Applesaday for doing beta! :)**

 **ETA: I have since abandoned this story out of sheer disgust for how this season turned out; just updating it here with how far I got, which was this chapter + one other. Maybe one day, in the distant future, I'll pick this up again... who knows.**

* * *

Back in Storybooke, a heavy tension seemed to envelop them all.

No one had seen or heard from Emma since she'd deposited them all inside Granny's a week ago. Regina hadn't had a good night's sleep since, unable to shut off her brain and the gnawing guilt and worry.

Which was why, when she stepped outside on a sunny Friday morning to find a carnival set up in the streets of Storybooke, she chalked it up to delirium and lack of sleep - how else would she forget such an event, when it was clear everyone else knew about it, as they milled around, laughing lightheartedly. She could see dwarves and nuns finishing setting up everywhere, and felt a smile tug at her lips as she stepped forward, joining in the merriment.

The carnival was pleasant enough, she supposed. The whole town seemed to have shown up, and everyone seemed to have had too much to drink. At one point, Regina could have sworn she'd seen Ruby pressed up against a wall by an Asian-looking girl, both lost in each other's eyes, and - she looked away quickly as they started to kiss rather enthusiastically. When she looked back a few minutes later however, there was no trace of them. She wondered idly when Ruby had returned, and then wondered if the alcohol was making her see things. She didn't remember drinking that much, but she looked down to see a half-drunk cup of cider in her hand, so she must have had some.

She kept blinking in confusion as the day wore on, and at one point, when she saw Henry standing beside a pretty girl - awfully close to her, she noted, and took a half step towards them in outrage - she could have sworn she saw Emma, in a dress - she squinted; is that my dress? - stalking towards them. The teens looked up, and in the next blink, they were all gone.

The next time she saw Henry, he was holding baby Neal, watched closely by the Charmings and Emma. The girl was nowhere to be found. Emma looked up from their son and her baby brother, eyes alight with warmth and love meeting her own.

Love…

Regina frowned.

And Emma was right there, in front of her, taking her hand and pulling her towards their family.

She smiled.

Love.

* * *

The Dark Swan sighed. That had been a close call. Regina was far too smart for her own good.

She frowned. She'd have to keep an eye on the brunette, just in case.

Three forceful knocks on her door startled her, and she briefly lost her hold on the magic thread she'd been stroking softly for the past hours. Dammit.

She grasped it, placing it gently in its' container, keeping the magic flowing through it, before getting up to open the door.

"Killian," she purred, pleasantly surprised. She'd planned on starting to work on him soon, but had thought she'd have more trouble getting him alone. She smirked to herself. It seemed the pirate wasn't as wary of the Dark One as someone who'd spent centuries hunting one ought to be. Still, it worked in her favour, so she wasn't about to question it.

She grinned seductively at him. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Regina mentioned seeing your car parked outside, but refused to _push you_ ," he said, the air quotes evident in his sneering tone as he spat the last two words.

Of course Regina had found out where she lived. Of course. Emma sighed.

"And you never had any problem pushing me, did you Killian?" She kept her voice carefully flat, letting him draw his own conclusions as to her meaning.

"I only want what's best for you, Swan."

She regarded him closely, thoughtfully. "If that's true, then why are you here to break the curse?" At his surprised look, she laughed mockingly. "You think I don't know why you're here? It won't work, Killian."

"Why not? I love you! You love me!"

She suppressed the urge to gag at his assertion; it was partially her fault for telling him that, after all. "Then why can't you accept me as me - accept that this is who I am now?"

He hesitated and she grinned, stalking forward with a predatory gleam in her eyes. "Do you love me, Killian - all of me? If you don't, I'll let you go." She wouldn't, he was too valuable to her still, but he didn't know that.

He smiled at her. "Of course I love you, Swan. You're the Saviour; you're my happy ending."

She suppressed a disgusted eyeroll, smiling seductively instead. "Then come with me," she inclined her head towards the stairs, the invitation clear. "There's something I want you to see."

* * *

Regina spent all day in an alcohol-induced haze.

The people around her seemed to be surrounded by a mist, making them blurry and at times all but indistinguishable. Some niggling thought in the back of her mind told her something was wrong, but the carnival was filled with warmth and laughter; Robin wasn't around (she thought she might have spotted him once, hours ago, walking hand in hand with Zelena, and was surprised by how little that had upset her), and even though Emma had since disappeared, she still found herself enjoying herself more than she had in years.

She smiled, free and light, twirling in the lit street to the soft music floating over the carnival, admiring the way her dress flared out around her.

She stopped, cocking her head in confusion.

When had she changed into a ballgown?

* * *

When she opened her eyes, she was unsurprised, if slightly disgusted, to find she was in a pure white dress, complete with cape and hood. Hearing hooves behind her, she pasted on a smile and turned to face Hook.

Hopping off the horse gracefully, he walked towards her, grinning. "For you," he said, with a ridiculous curtsy, pulling out light pink roses from behind his back.

"Killian! They're beautiful!"

"Not as beautiful as you are now that you've come back to the light."

She kept her smile frozen on her face, mouth firmly shut, not trusting herself not to snap at him is she spoke.

"I am so glad I was able to save you, Swan."

"Of course you saved me," she cooed, stroking his face softly. "You're my True Love."

His smile was both victorious and smug as he took her hand, leading her back to the horse and pulling her on to it behind him.

As they took off at a light trot, she felt her other dream thread, safely in its container in reality, go taut and snap. Cursing to herself, she hastily pulled both her and the pirate out of the dream. Hook blinked in confusion for a second, before she sent him flying into a wall with a flick of her wrist.

As he crashed to ground in an undignified heap, unconscious, she grasped the broken thread, searching for what - who - had broken it. A rueful smile danced on her lips.

"Regina," she sighed.

This would be fun. She had to make this one good, so good the brunette would never suspect anything. A thought crossed her mind, and she grinned to herself, already magicking a new dream thread.

* * *

 **Now we're getting to the fun part! Look out for RH dying in the next couple of chapters. Hook now has definitive demise planned out for episode 8 (thanks, spoilers! you really made it too easy). For reference, we've just finished "episode 4", so just a few more chapters with him, promise!**


	8. Dreamcatcher pt1

**I'd hoped to have this out much earlier, but life got in the way. I finally made time today, because I wanted at least some of this chapter to be out before the episode this Sunday. Obviously there are some very marked differences in the timeline, but this is still gonna be a big one for the otp, and I'm going to be surrounded by drunken swen for 4 days, including while watching the ep, so I know no writing is going to get done ;)**

 **If you can, please remember to watch live this Sunday, to give them the views & enjoy the Swan-Mills angst fest!**

 **This chapter is wholly unedited, in the interest of time, so all mistakes are my own.**

* * *

All in all, she thought, this had been a brilliant idea. As she wove the dream threads into the dreamcatcher, entwining them together tightly, she grinned to herself. This would be the most intricate, detailed dream she'd woven, and she was sure it'd pay off.

The sun filtered through the trees, but the nip in the air was still very much present. Regina pulled her cloak around her tightly, taking in the scenery around her, basking in the peaceful nature of the spot. The well was right behind her, its' wall littered with unlit candles and bottles for the potion they'd be making later on. For now, they had to wait until the sun set, and Henry and Emma had decided to explore.

The sounds of laughter and shouting reached her, and she couldn't contain the grin from spreading across her lips; a second later, Henry darted through the trees, running towards her, eyes sparkling and sword in hand.

"You'll never catch me!" he sing-songed to Emma, who was chasing him, hot on his heels.

Regina's grin turned into a full-blown laugh when Emma finally came into view, her previously white dress brown with mud almost from head to foot.

"Wanna bet, kid?" she growled, making a grab for the running boy.

"Henry, put that sword away," Regina told him, trying to hide her smile. "You know better than to run with knives."

"It's not a knife," he mumbled, but put it away in the scabbard hanging off his belt anyway at his mother's stern look.

The momentary pause cost him, as Emma finally caught up to him and grabbed him into a muddy bear hug. The boy squirmed and flailed in protest, but Emma just held on tight, laughing.

"This is what you get for not helping your mother up from the mud, kid."

Henry looked disgruntled when the blonde let him go, his pout making Regina laugh again.

"Stand still, you two," she told them, before waving her hands so they were clean again.

Henry's mood brightened considerably, and he ran off again to practise swinging his sword against a poor, unsuspecting tree.

The two women stood watching him fondly, matching smiles on their faces.

"It's funny," Emma said softly, eyes still on their son. "When I'm with you guys, things don't seem so bleak."

Regina reached out, squeezing Emma's arm. "This will work," she said firmly, eyes warm. "We'll free Merlin, and then you won't ever have to worry about the darkness again."

Emma smiled at her. "I hope so."

* * *

Zelena was hungry.

She'd read all the books on pregnancy Regina had given her, and apparently, this was normal and expected even. Pregnant women frequently had cravings for weird foodstuffs, and one of the books mentioned the possibility of the child taking on the appearance of the craved food if the mother didn't sate that craving. She shuddered. That simply wouldn't do.

So the next time the orderly came by to give her food and her toilet break, she asked if she could talk to Robin Hood.

When the orderly looked unsure, she pressed her hands to her growing belly and said it was about the baby. The orderly nodded and scurried off to make the phone call.

She sat back on her bed, satisfied.

There was no way she was risking her precious baby coming out looking anything like its' father, even if that meant…

She sighed, closing her eyes and meditating. She'd found it really helped calm her, and focused her enough that sometimes she swore she could feel the baby's heartbeat inside her.

* * *

As the sun set over their little corner of the forest, the family huddled around the well. Regina passed Emma the ingredients as the blonde poured them into the water, before stepping aside to let Regina do the actual magicking part.

She had insisted - vehemently so - that Emma was not to do magic, unless absolutely necessary.

So the blonde stepped back and watched as Regina stretched her hands over the well. The wind picked up speed, whipping their hair into their faces, until, with a resounding boom, a wave of light blasted them backwards.

As they scrambled to their feet, Regina looked around wildly, her gaze landing on a handsome young man standing in front of her family - a man who had clearly not been there moments ago.

"Who are you?" she growled, getting to her feet, a fireball already hovering in one hand.

The man turned and grinned at them. "I believe you've been looking for me. I'm Merlin."

* * *

No one was entirely certain what had happened. Robin Hood had showed up at the hospital to see Zelena, and had gone into her cell, insisting he didn't need anyone to warn Regina, and that he had it under control. The orderlies thought they heard some thuds from the padded room, but by the time they'd knocked on the door, Robin had opened it and strolled out.

"She's crazy," was all he said by way of explanation as he passed by them. "Kept ranting about my leaving Regina for her." He scoffed. "As if."

The orderlies accepted his words with grim faces - they all had their own thoughts on the situation (hell, all of Storybrooke did, and often they weren't shy to share those thoughts), but none dared comment on it, so they went back to their stations in silence.

No one noticed Robin Hood slip out of the hospital quietly and unobtrusively, and turn a corner towards the woods where Charming had once gotten lost in his amnesiac state. Even if they had, no one would have questioned it - he was Robin Hood, after all. However, that meant that no one saw what happened next. As he disappeared into the tree line, green smoke enveloped him, until Zelena stood there, a gleeful smile on her face.

She patted her belly absent-mindedly. "Now then, now that that's taken care of, where should we go next, my pretty?"

She disappeared into the forest. It would be hours before the orderlies knocked on Zelena's cell door, to find Robin's prone body on the floor, missing his heart.

* * *

 **I'm sorry this is so short; it's so cold in here, my fingers are not cooperating. Next one I promise will be meaty - bugcedes, dark swan queen and angst galore!**

 **For anyone wondering: yes, that's the end of forest fart. I didn't want to make it too explicit, 'cause tbh, it kinda grosses me out. It's not my fault she's a psychopath and the writers decided to call her the Hannibal Lecter of the show, I mean... honestly.**

 **Again, a reminder: this fic is not finished, and I currently have no plans of finishing it. I'm sorry. Hopefully I can get past my anger soon-ish and maybe get back to this, but until then...**


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